Subversive Faith, pt 2 - 1 Peter 4

A Subversive Faith is a lifestyle that cultivates a counter-cultural reform producing a christ-centered abundant life.

Peter wants us to understand the NEW value system and ethic we live according to as apprentices of Jesus.

That value system, over time, with bring change and renewal to corrupt society.

Christian living is reverently subverting cultural evils ..this means challenging societal norms that contradict God’s truth while maintaining a Christlike attitude of love, humility, and respect. This involves:

1. Living Counter-Culturally – Following biblical principles even when they oppose mainstream values (e.g., valuing life, integrity, justice, and moderation).

2. Speaking Truth in Love – Addressing moral and ethical issues with wisdom and grace rather than aggression or condemnation. Speaking truth to those you have permission and relational equity. We need nuanced conversations.

3. Engaging in Redemptive Action – Actively working to transform culture by promoting justice, serving the marginalized, and embodying Christ’s love.

4. Avoiding Complicity – Refusing to participate in or passively accept cultural evils such as materialism, exploitation, or immorality.

5. Relying on God’s Strength – Trusting in the Holy Spirit for guidance, courage, and endurance in standing for righteousness.

God specializes in bringing redemption to unrighteous realities.

God is always about purifying whats been polluted and protecting those who are vulnerable. Neither strict Outward boundaries or public policies produce change in people’s hearts.

As a pastor, I stand with a prophetic voice and speak into our lives and culture, calling us back to God. I am not a pundit or political party puppet. I stand at the intersection of culture and religion and plead with us to come to God. We have a tendency to over spiritualize political things and over politicize spiritual things.

This approach reflects Jesus’ own ministry, where He confronted sin and injustice while extending grace and calling people to redemption.

1 Peter 4:1–6 CSB

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin—2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. 3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

Our lifestyle should be in contrast to the world around us.

Not different for sake of being different, but rather to properly reflect the values of the Kingdom of God.

in the world, not of the world

Commitment to God and His ways, leads to compassion which proceeds conviction. God’s goodness that leads us to repentance.

we must take up our cross to follow Jesus.

Christianity is cross-centric not self-help humanism, not an industrial military complex, not communistic idealism.

I’m trying to emphasizes that Christianity is centered on the cross of Christ rather than aligning with political, economic, or military systems.

1. “Cross-Centric” – Christianity is fundamentally about Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection. It calls believers to humility, love, forgiveness, and spiritual transformation rather than power or force. we lay our “rights” down.

2. Not self-help humanism. The focus is not on you and your happiness. Pursuit of happiness as chief aim is a cultural ideology not a biblical theology. This is not a moralistic therapeutic deism—a feel-good, self-centered faith that lacks the transforming power of the Gospel. True Christianity calls us to follow Jesus, repent of sin, and live for God’s glory rather than just seeking personal comfort.

3. “Not an Industrial Military Complex” – Christianity is not about militarization, conquest, or using force to impose our ideology. Unlike nations or empires that rely on war and industry for dominance, the gospel spreads through faithful living, not coercion.

3. “Nor Communistic Idealism” – Christianity also does not fully align with communism, which promotes collective ownership and state control. While biblical principles encourage generosity and caring for the poor, Christianity does not mandate forced wealth redistribution or government-enforced equality. Instead, it emphasizes individual voluntary love, justice, and stewardship under God’s authority.

Christianity is Cross-centric. So, what needs to die in your life? What ideology, idol, or fleshly passion needs to be removed?

1 Peter 4:7–19 CSB

7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? 18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

The subversive faith is a sober-minded stewardship of God’s goodness.

sober-minded not drunk or deceived. Don’t be so drunk power you can’t seem to submit. Don’t be so drunk of politics that you can’t see Jesus’ way. Don’t be so drunk of materialism that you can’t see how to live humbly. Don’t be so intoxicated by the cravings of your sensual desires that you turn to Christ’s sacrificial love into self-love and self-help.

steward your gifts to serve others not live with rage and rebellion fighting for your opinions

covers others not exposes them.

Subversive Culture vs. Forceful Rebellions

Subversive Culture

Approach -Gradual, transformative, and often non-confrontational

Goal - Changing hearts, minds, and cultural norms from within

Methods - Persuasion, influence, peaceful resistance, artistic expression, and ethical living

Impact - Long-term cultural shifts, often subtle and deep-rooted

Example in Christianity - Early Christians living out their faith under Roman rule, influencing change over centuries

Biblical Model - Jesus, Paul, and the early church changing society through love and truth of Scripture

Forceful Rebellions

Approach - Direct, forceful, and confrontational

Goal - Overthrowing authority, systems, or governments

Methods - Protests, violence, civil disobedience, and armed resistance

Impact - Immediate and dramatic, but sometimes short-lived or chaotic, many casualties

Example in Christianity - Zealots revolting against Rome, leading to destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70

Biblical Model - Various uprisings in Israel’s history, often leading to oppression rather than liberation

While revolts and rebellions seek to force change through conflict, subversive culture works within the system, often undermining injustice by promoting righteousness, love, and truth. The Christian model, as seen in Jesus’ life, leans toward subversion over rebellion, aiming for deep, lasting transformation rather than short-term upheaval often accompanied by violence and power grabs.

Jesus modeled a Subversive Faith.

what did Jesus do and teach?

…it embraces suffering not rages against it.

Instead of seeking vengeance against persecution, Christians were to respond with love, which disarmed and convicted oppressors.

Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit boldness to live with a Fearless Hope in the Face of Persecution...God wants us to pass the test.

I’ve been reading about the persecuted church. There is a silent genocide occuring in Africa right now.

Christians were to suffer unjustly without fear, showing courage rooted in hope in Christ rather than in rebellion. Jesus suffered unjustly yet triumphed, showing that God’s way of overcoming evil is through sacrificial love, not violent uprising.

Why the hope? Because of the Cross and resurrection. The cross itself is the greatest subversive act—it defeats sin and evil not by force but by act of redemption.

What do we see about God throughout story of Scripture?

God’s might, strength, and vengeance comes to the defense of those being bullied and persecuted. He is our hope. He’s the Creator we can count on (1Pt4:19). He’s on the side of life—particularly vulnerable and victimized life. Life, even unborn, is precious to God.

In Israel’s story, in exodus 3, The Lord says, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Do you want to know how to get the attention of the Living God really fast? Bully somebody.

God has this way of being in our world in ways that are mysterious, really out of the way, and really hidden. But when people are oppressed, when people are mistreated, when people are bullied—all of a sudden, it wakes up the strongest impulses in Almighty God.

If we didn’t learn that from the Old Testament, we should’ve certainly gotten that when we looked at the person of Jesus, right? When Jesus comes and reveals who God is among us, He reveals Himself almost exclusively as the God who is on the side of the alien, the orphan, the fatherless, the widow, the oppressed, the poor.

That’s Jesus. He’s always on their side. Wherever human life is threatened, do you know who’s there? Judgement is coming for the unrepentant bully. This is where God’s vengeance, not ours, comes into play. This is one of the reasons, why i’m convinced Hell biblical and exists. It’s the place of ultimate protection against evil corrupting God’s good world He recreates.

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Talk it Over (being honest & open with friends, a spouse, or your Group)

The message was about our call to live Subversive Faith. What is one idea from Sunday’s message that impacted you?

Read 1 Peter 4. What does this passage reveal about Jesus?

How does the concept of a 'cross-centric' faith differentiate Christianity from ideologies? Look up (google or chatGPT) the definition and examples for Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. How does that contrast to what the Bible teaches?

What are some examples of 'cultural evils' that Christians should avoid complicity in?

How can you speak truth in love when faced with peers/friends who have different beliefs?

How does understanding God's position on life’s value impact our views on social issues?

What does the passage from 1 Peter 4 suggest about the nature of suffering for Christians?

Read 1 Peter 4:17-19. What do you think Peter is trying to communicate here?